Those looking for an easy commute to Washington, D.C. often look no further than Eldersburg. The town, once mostly farmland, has seen a steady influx of families over the last 20 years. Donít let the new Home Depot, Wal-Mart, and Kohlís department store fool you: Eldersburg is still a small, quiet town with lush hills and a large reservoir. While the homes arenít cheap, the countyís public schools rank among the best in the state. --D.B.

Using statistics from data services company Onboard Informatics, we crunched the numbers in order to zero in on America's best small towns for families. (Last year, we looked at small cities, with populations between 50,000 and 300,000.)
More